It took the better part of the winter to finish building their home. Much of that time is spent waiting for a spot of good weather so the masonry could set. Bit by bit though, it comes together.

In the intervening time, no one came to Rothfall or to the build-site in search of rogue androids. The news frothed over Bionic Capital's decision to pivot their business into android upgrades, repairs, and bots without artificial intelligence. Though the Samis hadn't resurfaced or appeared in these broadcasts, their influence could be felt. Controversy boiled in the public sector over the continued use of androids both industrially and domestically.

The situation was still far from perfect, but it was changing.

Hale and his friends gather around with cocoa to toast to their first night spent under the roof built by their own hands. Their living room is spartanly dressed, decorated by cushions with quotes like, I'd Call You a Cunt, but You Have Neither the Depth Nor the Warmth hand-embroidered by Damo. While Theo tells them about the wildlife she tried to feed that day, Rayner looks across the room at Hale making their cocoa. When Hale meets his eyes, the smile shared is a stolen thing. A snatch of pure contentment they never knew they could have.

A few months later, it's Rayner's birthday, and it's been eight days since Hale last saw him.

The extended separation required some technological intervention on Theo's part. Without his symbiont in close proximity, Hale couldn't recharge, so Theo had engineered a solar-powered portable generator—a temporary measure but useful for what he had planned.

The truck they travelled in was still parked outside Roberta's home where they'd left it. She assures Hale she has no need for it and welcomes him to stay as long as he wants. Due to her influence, the tiny community is far more accepting of androids and don't mind Hale's temporary presence there either.

Renovating the truck presents certain challenges. The first of which is finding odd jobs so that he can afford to rent the heavy drones necessary to airlift the truck over the mountain and into the glade they call home.

Night time proves the largest challenge of all. Hale's data streams light up with Rayner's erratic movements and general restlessness. In the long days and nights when they were still building their home, Rayner's insomnia had worsened before it got better. In the dead of night he would scream himself awake, or gasp into consciousness as if he'd been drowning. No matter how gently Hale woke him from his nightmares, he always opened his eyes as if expecting something other than the warmth of their bed and Hale's arms around him.

"Were they any different this time?" Hale would ask. Like maybe that would improve Rayner's quality of sleep, if only the nightmares were varied.

"No. The same one."

It was always this: Hale, inert and vacant-eyed, dragged across concrete and leaving a trail of blue blood behind while Rayner couldn't stop him being taken away.

Over the course of months, the nightmares waned in frequency. Some mornings, Rayner even woke up fully rested and smiling. Since Hale's absence though, the nightmares returned.

Hale puts the final touches on his gift that morning, waiting for the drones to arrive so he can rig up the truck to them. Only now do the fears plague him that this absence, and the gift itself, will seem trite and repetitive. Particularly given the sleep Rayner sacrificed for it. Hale promised he'd make Rayner another sanctuary like the one they'd left behind. It seemed appropriate to re-establish the sense of safety instilled by the previous incarnation.

Now Hale wonders if it's too predictable. A paltry surprise.

It's too late for regret though. Standing next to the truck outside Roberta's house, the insect hum of the drones floats over the rooftops. Hale catches sight of one, then the other. They stop above the truck and unleash the industrial load restraints for attachment. It only takes a few minutes to rig up. Once complete, the straps running under the truck and up to the drones look like monstrous, grasping spider legs.

Roberta says, "Oh, it's lovely, Hale." Folding her housecoat around herself, she totters out of the house to say goodbye. "The bow is a nice touch."

The pink bow wrapped around the truck's hood cost him the better part of an afternoon at city hall digitizing paper documents. An odious task even for an android who needn't type them manually.

Hale smiles at the compliment. The bow does make the truck look more like a present.

"Thank you for having me, Roberta. I hope I was no imposition—"

"Hush. My house has never looked so clean. It was lovely to have company. You tell the others to visit more."

"I'll tell them."

He thumbs the remote attached to one of the straps. The hum of the drones becomes a roar as they kick into heavy gear, propellers whirling and kicking up dust. The truck jerks as the straps holding it pull taut. For the fraction of a second, it looks as though the truck won't budge, too heavy for the straining drones. Then its wheels lift and it sways ever so slightly side to side.

Airborne, it rises into the sky, shrinking as it goes.

Roberta gives him a bony hug goodbye and pats his hair. Farewells said, Hale gets on his ATV, revs the engine and takes off towards home.

Home.

The word appeared in his vocabulary on that fateful trip into Rothfall. Like a nest built by birds between his ribs, he hadn't noticed the first twigs and leaves. Now it's settled and well-worn in.

He sends Damo a quick message.

>>Please make sure Rayner isn't outside for the next hour. I'm on my way home.

>>Thank fuck. He's been such a cinnamon toasted grump while you've been gone.

>>I missed you too.

>>It's okay if you missed me a little less than him though. Just a little.

It isn't long before the familiar mountain peaks and turquoise lagoon come into view. The lake's depths are a gradation of colour, deep navy at its centre and bright teal at the beach. The roof of their home already grows green with moss. The glass of the greenhouse winks and flashes in the sun. Hale can't make out any of his friends' figures. Instead, there's a seven-foot rust-coloured armature of a grizzly bear outside their house. It hadn't been there when Hale left, so he can only assume it's a new project of some sort.

Hale parks the ATV and, before searching for Rayner or his friends, walks into the stand of trees surrounding their home to check that the drones successfully delivered his gift. He finds the truck perched neatly in the clearing he'd tidied up before leaving. It's unscuffed and pristine, but the drones are whipping the forest foliage into a frenzy. Hale unhooks the load restraints. Once freed, the drones sail up and away, vanishing beyond the canopy.

He looks for his friends in the greenhouse first. Upon entering, the smell of loam, chlorophyll, and fresh strawberries fills his nose. Neat rows of fruit and vegetable plants sprout from the hydroponics lining the walls and from low soil beds. Theo and Damo crowd next to tanks filled with algae, testing the water's mineral content to see if it needs adjustments for ideal growth. At the sound of Hale entering, they both perk up and look around.

Theo runs through the garden row to engulf him in an iron hug, saying, "You're back! You're back! And oh my god, the truck! We saw it coming down."

"It's pink," Damo adds. "The bow, I mean."

"I wanted it to look like a present."

"It looks like you're throwing a trailer-park teen's sweet sixteenth birthday." Hale scowls at him, but his expression melts when Damo slaps him on the shoulder and says. "Rayner's gonna bum it."

"Where is he?"

"In the house," Theo says, grinning. "Damo waited until ten minutes ago to tell Rayner he's got some gray hairs coming in. So he's probably in front of the mirror."

Hale's scowl returns. Damo holds up his hands. "I had to figure some way to get him inside! Besides, there's only like, three hairs tops."

There are two dozen. Hale noticed them appearing not long after their altercation with Bionic Capital. A response to stress, no doubt. Hale never mentioned it because he didn't want to stress Rayner any further, and he found the greys charming.

"Before you go tell him you're back though," Theo says. "Come see what we made."

She leads the way back toward the grizzly bear armature. It's made of copper and wire. The life-sized sculpture is reared up on its hind legs, muzzle open. It bears only one fang, the rest missing or incomplete.

"A bear?" Hale inquires.

Damo grins. "To scare away the real ones."

"Damo wanted to try metalwork. Which is uber useful for mechanical reasons, but I figured we could make something stupid and fun first."

"He's not stupid. He's majestic," Damo argues. "His name is Gus."

Theo spits with laughter. Hale can't help grinning ear to ear. He can't imagine the Damo of five months ago making a giant metal bear named Gus.

Hale says, "I love it."

Wrinkling his nose, Damo shoves him by the shoulder. "Be real. We all know where your true love lies."

"And we won't hold you back from him any longer," Theo intervenes. "Right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wouldn't hold you up a minute too long lest you die of withdrawal." Theo elbows Damo in the ribs. "I mean, have fun making out to make up for all that lost time." He checks his watch. "Eight whole days, you must be—"

"Okay. Back to work," Theo interrupts. "Greenhouse isn't gonna water itself."

"With my new irrigation system it wi—"

But Theo is already frogmarching Damo towards the greenhouse, blowing Hale a kiss as she goes.

There's nothing left to do but find Rayner. Hale walks up to their house with a jitter of nerves rattling his step. At the door, he pauses, heart stopping briefly. It's different than he left it, the door. Painted on the centre in soft pink and yellow is an orchid. Buds splay in two arches from the central flower. He can tell from the thickness of the paint at the centre that a poorer version of the flower had been painted, and this more skilful one was painted over it. Likely Rayner had tried, realized his artistic skill required more practice than he had time for, and he'd employed Damo to finish it.

The sight of it makes Hale's heart thud. They'd held a small funeral in the snow in the days following their arrival. Two headstones, one for Ophelia, one for Sami. At the time, it felt like something, but not the right something.

The painting on the door feels like the right something.